A. They pushed pop culture icons to join the fight.
On her latest albums, Beyonce explicitly proclaims that she is a feminist. Earlier in her career, together with her girl group Destiny’s Child, she made hit songs such as ‘Independent Women’, ‘Survivor’, ‘Say My Name’, ‘Bills, Bills, Bills’, and ‘Girls’. It was conveying the strength of women, their resilience, the importance of self-belief and supporting each other.
Not only that, in 2011 she also made another hit solo single which is titled “Run the World.” There is a lyric ‘We're smart enough to make these millions, strong enough to bear the children, then get back to business.’ It was made in order to empower girls. This song is very famous and it has become a feminist anthem for generations.
It is actually not only Beyonce, but there are other Pop Culture icons, like LupitaNyong’O, Madonna, Emma Watson, Angelina Jolie, and many more. They are all representing a cultural shift in how we perceive women, women of color and the feminist identity. The involvement of them is very good, as they have already been known by people around the world. It helps the spreading of the idea of feminism.
B. They focused attention on domestic workers' rights.
If we talk about feminism, we also talk about humanism. Feminism is not about females, but also humans. In America itself, domestic workers like nannies, home care workers and housekeepers earn below the minimum wage. So that it triggered the labor movement.
In Indonesia itself, the issues which are faced by labor, besides earning below the minimum wages, is about maternity leaves. Many people consider that maternity leaves in Indonesia is inconvenient, as it is lesser than another country. In Estonia, women get maternity leaves for 1,5 years. In the United Kingdom, they get 52 weeks, and they still get a salary. Meanwhile in Indonesia, they only get three months. I think that Indonesia’s government should revise this rule. At least, they get a maternity leave for six months, as baby needs exclusive breastfeeding in that six months.
C. They made the workplace a little more equal — for everyone.
When chosen to be a President, the first piece of legislation Obama signed into law was the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It gave women more time to sue an employer that paid them unfairly. It happened because of pressure from feminist thinkers. Women also have rights to get convenient pay, as before that they make less for the same work as men. Without feminist activists, the pay gap would likely be bigger than it is today.
As it stands now, women on average make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. The number gets worse when it comes to black and latina women. This situation is telling us how far we have to go that this legislation was considered controversial when it was just making a common-sense adjustment to an existing law.
D. They proved that the next big thing in science could be discovered by a woman.
